Mercy, a rising disco star
GASEBALWE SERETSE
Staff Writer
| Wednesday July 30, 2008 00:00
The artist, who performs by the stage name Mercy, knows how to hold her audience spellbound by her captivating dance routines and beautiful voice. Her breathtaking performance did not escape the eyes of the judges during the recent Heritage Day celebration when she beat other talented newcomers to win in the Best Upcoming Artist category. According to the petite singer, when she was growing up, disco music, which was very popular then, was almost like her staple food.
'When I was young, I used to listen to the likes of Brenda Fassie, Yvonne Chaka Chaka and Splash. When Lebo Mathosa hit the scene I also fell in love with her music,' says the 28-year-old Mercy. Although her name may not ring a bell to many, Mercy has been on the music scene since 1998 when she met and worked with popular Afro-pop artist Kangangwani 'Dr Vom' Mogocha. The duo collaborated in Dr Vom's runaway hit Matshidiso in which Mercy was the lead vocalist.
After parting ways with 'Dr Vom', she joined Rockas, an Afro-pop group managed by celebrated kwasakwasa artist Frank 'Franco' Lesokwane.
Back then, the two leading vocalists of the group were Mercy and Mickey Motlhabe - and they released their debut album, entitled Chechisa Mfana.
Mercy is at pains to explain how she parted ways with the all-female Rockas, but could only say that at some point when she was still with the group, she went on maternity leave and when she came back she realised that things had changed.
'I felt that somehow I was no longer welcome so I decided to go at it alone as I knew that I had talent,' asserts Mercy, who is quick to add that there is no bad blood between her and her former manager, Franco. Maybe, fate needed to give the young starlet a nudge and show her the solo path that had been paved for her because ever since she parted ways with Rockas, her star has been rising.
In 2006, Mercy's brother Garry Magodi, who owns a studio called Mgaro Sessions in Tlokweng, prepared a demo that contained six of her songs. The project was canned for a few months only to be resurrected early this year when she decided to record her debut album as a solo artist.
Strangely, all the tracks in the album, titled Chisa, are song-titled with proper nouns and the artist explains that she wanted to do 'something unique'. One song in the album that will most certainly have the disco artist's fans dancing away is the vibey track, Rati.
'Rati seeks to address passion killings that are rampart in this country. How true can it be that you can kill the one that you love?' she says philosophically.
Other songs include Katlego, Magdalene, Mma-T, John and Boipelo. In Mma-T, she pays tribute to her mother, who, although a single parent, raised Mercy and her eight siblings well.
Any nuggets of wisdom to the youth from the rising star?
'Young people should know that it is important to get proper education before venturing into music because showbiz is a dog-eat-dog industry.
They should also stay away from drugs and alcohol because they kill,' Mercy says. The artist hopes to go back to school soon if she gets a sponsor. The ambitious young woman hopes that 'in the not-so-distant future', sales from her album would rocket to platinum status.